Safety Tips For Holiday Lights
Once a year we marvel at the sight of twinkling lights that fill the night with colorful memories and euphoric feelings of warmth and happiness! What a sight to see! We often forget to stop and make sure that we are carefully taking precaution measurements when installing our festive displays. Below are a few tips to help insure you that your home is safe for the holidays!
Quality Is A Must!
Using good quality lights comes with many benefits and reasons! Bargain deals are always a plus but that does not mean the product is of quality. A good set of lights are always sturdy, a minimum of 22-gauge wiring, and fuses at the plug in site to prevent overheating.
Limit The Amount Of Light Strand Connectors
As easy and it seems to just plug in each strand of light to each other; it does come with risk. Many manufactures advise that only 3 strands should be connected to each other unless it is an LED set; which comes with different standards. The easiest thing to forget is that our home also has other appliances and electronics plugged in so keep that in mind!
Checking And Testing Your Lights
As soon as you open the box containing those shiny little bulbs of light make sure you plug them in first to check for any bad bulbs, frayed wires, and melted bulb sockets! This goes for new and old lights. Any of the above could easily cause a short circuit at any time.
GFCI Outlet
For all outdoor lights make sure that you are utilizing a GFCI outlet. This will prevent your breaker from going. The GFCI outlet will trip before that happens! It also serves as an additional secure layer of protection again overheating.
Christmas Trees Need Plenty Of Water!
Christmas trees are always incredibly important to keep a healthy water level maintained. This will prevent the tree from drying out thus allowing a spark to ignite when mixed with holiday lights.
Turn Them Off When You Are Not There!
This seems like a no brainer, but it will be much easier to handle any situation that were to arise if you are home. Turn them off and back on once you are home. Easy as that!
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